Guard for chimney-thimbles.



J. B. P. DUPONT.

GUARD POE CHIMNEY THIMBLES.

APPLIOATIOK FILED .JAN.25, 1910.

958,482 Patented May 17, 1910.

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WITNESSES CQQCQM. 7745: 61a? lNVENTOF/ JOHN B. 1?. DUPONT, OFSPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

GUARD FOR CHIMNEY-TI-IIMBLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1'7, 1910.

Application filed January 25, 1910. Serial No. 539,998.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. P. DUPONT, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Guard forChimney-Thimbles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1n thimble guards for chimneys, andconsists of a guard comprising a tubular member, either with or withoutan extension, and a collar of wire screen or netting mounted on saidtubular member and secured thereto and strengthened by means ofsubstantially radial stifieners of wire, all as hereinafter set forth.This device is used in connection with the ordinary thimble and collartherefor, as will be subsequently made plain.

Frequently the chimney and the woodwork and plastering in a buildingsettle unequally, and the object of my invention is to make provisionfor this so that dangerous cracks through which fire may communicatewith the woodwork will not be opened, nor unsightly bulging of theplastering around the thimble-opening be produced.

A further object is to protect the woodwork from fire in the event thethimble gets hot enough to ignite wood.

My guard incases the major portion of the thimble, with an air-spacebetween, and the parts are so arranged that there is no way for fire toget through said guard to the more or less inflammable or combustiblematerial surrounding it. The device although strong and durable issimple and lnexpensive.

I attain the objects and secure the advantages of my invention by themeans illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is afront elevation of the thimble guard, and Fig. 2, a sectional view ofsuch guard, showing its application with a thimble to a chimney and theframework adjacent to such chimney.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The guard as shown consists of a cylinder 1, preferably with a length orextension 2 fitted to one terminal, a foraminous collar 3 mounted onsuch cylinder adjacent to the other terminal, and a plurality ofsubstantially radial, wire stiffeners 4 having their inner ends fastenedto said cylinder, and to the exposed portions of which outside of thecylinder said collar is securely attached, either by interweaving saidstilfeners with the foraminous material of the collar or by uniting saidcollar in some other manner with the stifi'eners. Wire netting isbelieved to be the cheapest and best material for the collar 3. Usedwith this guard is a simple thimble 5, and a common collar 6 therefor.The diameter of the thimble-guard members is considerably larger thanthat of the thimble 5. The collar 6 should be large enough to cover theopening at the front end of the cylinder 1, when the parts are in placewith the thimble 5 extending through the center of said cylinder, asshown in Fig. 2. The air-space between the tubular members, whenassembled, appears at 7, in this view, and it is really the outer end ofsuch space that is closed by the collar 6.

Part of a chimney is represented at'8, and the associated studding at 9,lathing at 10 and plastering at 11, in Fig. 2. The thimble 5 has itsinner terminal inserted in the chimney opening '12, and said thimbleprojects forward to receive the stove-pipe (not shown). Concentric withand surrounding the thimble 5, between the vertical plane of the face ofthe plastering 11 and the outside of the chimney 8, is the cylinder 1with its extension 2, the outer terminal of said cylinder fitting snuglyinto an opening 13 made in said plastering to receive such terminal. Thecylinder 1 is held securely in the position just described by the collar3 which is far enough back from the front end of said cylinder to permitit to rest against the lat-hing 10. The collar 3 may be nailed to thelathing 10, as represented at 1 1. The plastering 11 is put on over thecollar 3, intimately uniting with said collar and its stifleners, andassisting in producing a strong, durable and efiicient structure. Thecollar 6, which is mounted on the front end of the thimble 5 and is ofsuflicient size to contact with the plastering 11 all the way around theopening 13, closes the forward end of the annular air-space 7, asalready noted, and completes the structure in which is included myguard. It is now clear that, owing to the separation between the innerand outer tubular members, any usual amount of unequal settling, such ashas been previously referred to, can take place without doing any injuryto the plastering or bringing about such close relation between saidinner and outer tubular members as to render possible the communicationof fire to the Woodwork. VVit-hout the extension 2 it would be necessaryin each case for the length of the cylinder 1 to correspondapproximately with the distance between the front sides of the chimney 8and plastering 11, adjacent to the openings 12 and 13 in said chimneyand plastering, respectively. Obviously, this would not be desirablefrom an economical standpoint. This objectionable feature is removed andthe difficulty presented thereby overcome by the presence and use of theextension 2, and such extension renders the application of the guardpractically universal. It is understood, of course, that the extension 2is drawn out or pushed in as much or as little as may be required inorder to obtain the length necessary to enable the cylinder 1 withextension to adapt itself to any given distance from chimney face toplastering face. This is a valuable feature of my invention.

I am aware that auxiliary thimbles or guards for ordinary thimbles areold, and do not therefore seek to claim broadly such a device, but

hat I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. As an improved article of manufacture, a thimble guard comprising acylinder, substant-ially radial stiifeners fastened at their inner endsto said cylinder, and a foraminous collar mounted on said cylinder andattached to said stifieners, such collar and stiffeners being adapted tobe received between the lathing and plastering around the flue tosupport the guard.

2. As an improved article of manufacture, a thimble guard comprising acylinder, an extension fitted to one terminal of such cylinder,substantially radial stifieners fastened at their inner ends to saidcylinder adjacent to the end thereof opposite the terminal where saidextension is located, and a foraminous collar mounted on said cylinderand attached to said stifieners, such collar and stifleners beingadapted to be received between the lathing and plastering around theflue to support the guard.

3. The combination, with a chimney and its thimble, and the studding,lathing and plastering adjacent to such chimney around said thimble, ofa thimble guard comprising a cylinder larger in diameter than saidthimble and surrounding the same with an airspace between, an extensionfitted to the inner terminal of such cylinder, such extension beingadjustable to adapt the cylinder with extension to the distance betweenthe outside faces of said chimney and plastering, substantially radialstiffenersfastened at their inner ends to the cylinder, and afo-raminous collar mounted on the cylinder and attached to suchstiffeners, said stiffeners and said collar being received between saidlathing and plastering around the. opening therein for the cylinder.

JOHN B. P. DUPONT. Witnesses:

F. A. CUTTER, A. G. Famexnxs.

